


A Mocha Kind of Guy

by glitterburg



Series: We Write Victuuri prompts [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dog Groomer, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Vicchan Lives, Victor loves dogs, Victor works his magic, Yuuri Too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 17:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14170260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitterburg/pseuds/glitterburg
Summary: When the visits to the local dog-grooming parlor become Yuuri's highlights of the month, it's time to admit that he may care more about the charming groomer than the haircuts he gives to Vicchan.





	A Mocha Kind of Guy

**Author's Note:**

> Here's your much needed dog groomer AU, because honestly... is there a more perfect job for a Viktor who doesn't skate?
> 
> Written for [@wewritevictuuri](https://wewritevictuuri.tumblr.com)'s weekly prompt, "I don't think I can forgive you for this."
> 
> Thank you so much for the beta work, [postingpebbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/postingpebbles)!

St Petersburg is growing on Yuuri.

He arrived on the first day of December, shortly after one of those rare birthdays he got to spend with his family and friends. It's not the first time he moved outside Japan, but somehow the gloomy, grey winter sky that greeted him upon arrival felt more depressing than it did in Detroit.

He wasn't too excited about the prospect of building a life from scratch again, of learning a new language, of meeting new people, of finding new favorite places—but this time Vicchan got to come too, and that's a luxury he couldn't afford back in the States. And as winter’s washed-out colors switched to a greener, sunnier spring, Yuuri's mood bloomed with the apple trees in his neighbor's garden.

He's working and training hard now; he needs to if he wants a chance at extending his contract with the theatre at the end of the year. He falls into new routines too, some of which he enjoys more than others.

The most pleasant routine of all falls on every other Monday, with mornings dedicated to Vicchan. It's a habit he had to pick up in St Petersburg out of necessity, but one he certainly doesn’t mind. Still, the only reason he's a regular customer at the dog-grooming parlor is his very strict landlord who’s paranoid about dog fur stuck in the carpet, not the gorgeous groomer with eyes that shine brighter than diamonds.

(Yuuri ignores Phichit side-eyeing him with a knowing smirk.)

Anyway, the weather here is much wetter than it is in Hasetsu too and trying to bathe a muddy Vicchan usually turns into Yuuri's worst nightmare. More often than not, it ends with Yuuri having to deep clean the bathroom.

He still hasn’t figured out what kind of superpower Viktor—the dog groomer—possesses, but Vicchan is undoubtedly affected by it if his obedience is anything to go by. The betrayal the mini-poodle shows him is a bit disappointing, but Yuuri puts his hands together in a grateful prayer that it led him to that particular salon.

The thirty-minute walk from home is pretty uneventful. Vicchan happily trots down the street in front of him, passing the park they usually end up in, and turning on the street that takes them to the commercial part of the district. There's just one planned stop before they reach their destination, a little coffee shop on the corner right next to Doggyforov. Viktor never lets him pay (courtesy to a fellow poodle lover, he says, but Yuuri's seen him charge others who come in with poodles). He’s noticed the shop's takeaway cup on Viktor's grooming table though, so he took it upon himself to pay him with fancy coffee instead.

The salon can only be described as a dog paradise where happy barking greets the customers instead of the chime of a bell. Today it's only Makkachin though, Viktor's own poodle. Turns out, today is a lazy morning for the business.

Mila is the one on reception duty and she waves Yuuri hello as soon as he steps inside, although Yuuri can't help but wonder whether it's actually directed at him or at Vicchan.

He answers the silent greeting anyway. “Hi, I have an appointment with—”

"Viktor," she finishes brightly. "You're bearing coffee, so you shall be granted access."

Yuuri smiles gratefully. It's a miracle that most of the employees here, including Viktor, can speak English. His Russian is improving steadily, but he gets confused with grammar more often than not, and the pronunciation is another nightmare he's trying to avoid.

Then the phone rings, and Mila's lost to a conversation in Russian.

Yuuri closes the door quickly, because Makkachin is running towards them a little too enthusiastically, and he'd die if Viktor's dog escaped because of him. She stops in front of them though. It looks like she’s just happy to see Vicchan. The two of them get along surprisingly well.

“Yuuri, welcome!” Viktor shouts from the corridor that leads to the grooming rooms.

Yuuri perks up more than Vicchan at that smooth, cheerful voice. He's as dumbstruck as always when he sees Viktor with his beautiful blue eyes that have to be made out of pure starlight, silky silver hair, and a contagious heart-shaped smile. He’s wearing a tight-fitting black V-neck and light grey pants today, along with the signature poodle print waterproof apron that, for some reason, looks strikingly similar to Yuuri's phone case.

“Hi Viktor,” he says, managing to get the words out. He hopes that he doesn’t look like the fool that he knows he is.

“Is that for me?” Viktor eyes the paper cup with interest. "What am I getting today?" he asks before taking a careful sip.

“Did I get it right this time?” Yuuri can’t help but question, wincing when he sounds a little more eager than he intended.

"Nope," Viktor replies, and despite what he says he still looks happy. "But I do wonder what makes you think I'm a mocha kind of guy."

A flush spreads across Yuuri's cheeks. This has been an ongoing game between them. Initially, when he decided he was going to pay Viktor with coffee, he asked what his favorite was, but he never got an answer. What he received instead was a challenge, so Yuuri's been trying to guess ever since.

"Umm... You do seem to like sweet things," he mumbles.

"Oh, is that so?" Viktor asks with a look that makes Yuuri's knees tremble.

"I mean, M-Makkachin is a sweet girl—and Vicchan too!"

"Are you sure Makka and Vicchan are the only sweet things here?" Viktor asks, impossibly blue eyes piercing Yuuri’s.

Yuuri knows that he needs to answer, but the most he can manage is a hysteric little giggle. Viktor takes another sip of his coffee before he focuses on Vicchan.

"Sporting the bed hair today, hmm?" He picks him up and detaches his collar from the leash, then turns around to take him straight to his room. When he looks back over his shoulder to find Yuuri still rooted at the reception, he smiles. "You're right, by the way. I do like sweet things."

Yuuri remembers to follow him.

"Any interesting customers lately?" he asks once he's inside the room, hanging his jacket on the coat rack.

“There was this one lady with a gorgeous, _gorgeous_ , white as snow Maltese,” Viktor says as he places Vicchan on the grooming table and removes his collar. “We couldn't convince her that pink highlights weren't a good look for the poor puppy."

“Ugh, no way!” Yuuri shudders even just thinking about it. “Did you do it in the end?”

"Georgi did. He's into this kind of stuff lately."

Yuuri scrunches his nose. He's sure all those chemicals can't do good for a dog.

"And then there was this guy who thought we did hair extensions. On dogs."

“Hair extensions…”

"I know, right?" Viktor agrees with a chuckle as he does the routine examination of Vicchan's fur and skin. "Aww, Yuuri, how do you handle these puppy eyes?" he asks while checking the fur on his head.

"It's a challenge," Yuuri answers. "Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the real boss."

"I'll make you so handsome today," Viktor promises, turning back to the mini-poodle and ruffling the curly fur on top of his head. "There's this new trend and I'm dying to try it."

He looks at Yuuri expectantly, and Yuuri wonders if he's supposed to let him do it because Viktor's basically working for free.

“I don’t know,” he says, uneasy. “I don’t usually like trends…”

“It’ll be cute, I promise.”

“I prefer him normal, to be honest.”

"Yuuuuri, don't you trust me?" Viktor says, and Yuuri thinks this is unfair; his puppy eyes are even more devastating than Vicchan's.

“I-I do…” he manages to croak.

"Yay!"

Oh, here comes the heart-shaped smile again.

Yuuri’s damned. Is Viktor doing this on purpose or does he act like this around all of his customers?

“Umm, so what’s this new trend?”

“Not telling. Let me surprise you,” Viktor answers with a wink.

He prepares the bath with the gentle shampoo he always uses. The smell reminds Yuuri of baby shampoo, but he's so used to smelling it exclusively on Viktor and Vicchan that he can't possibly imagine coming across it anywhere else.

As always, Yuuri pays close attention to what Viktor's doing once the mini-poodle is in the water. It's a futile attempt at learning how to keep him calm and patient—not scared or overly excited enough that he drowns Yuuri in the bath water. But nope, it’s still just the Nikiforov charm that tames even the naughtiest dog in Hasetsu.

By the time Viktor finishes rinsing Vicchan, his clothes are still completely dry, and Yuuri's five minutes into explaining the story of the new ballet he's in. It's contemporary and somewhat abstract, only loosely based on _Swan Lake_.

"Sounds interesting," Viktor says. "I like the original, but I would love to watch this interpretation with you in it."

Yuuri shimmies his shoulders a bit and smiles to himself, Viktor’s interest rubbing on him positively.

“Well,” he says shyly. “I think the director mentioned that all our shows sold out already.”

“Oh…” Viktor pouts. “That’s a pity.”

He pulls the poodle out of the tub, wraps him in a large, fluffy towel, and takes him back to the grooming table. He pauses to sip his coffee which has to be lukewarm by now, then gets a couple of brushes out from a drawer and a special hair dryer for dogs from another.

Soon, it becomes too loud to hear each other, so they give up on talking until Vicchan's body (not his head, for a reason unknown to Yuuri) is completely dry.

"Time to get your upgrade, little fella," Viktor coos to the dog and Yuuri curiously steps closer. It's not like he doesn't trust him. Vicchan never ended up looking weird, and Makkachin always looks like a normal poodle too, so…

"Yuuuuri, how is this going to be a surprise if you watch me?" Viktor teases. "Go have a look at the magazines."

Oh, right, the magazines. The magazines on the table next to the armchairs, there for the sane dog owners who aren't compelled to watch their handsome groomer's every move.

“Yeah, okay,” he mumbles, then backs away. Viktor’s eyes follow him with amusement.

He listens to the sound of the nail clipper, then the trimmer, then the hair dryer, then the pair of scissors. For a good twenty minutes, he occupies his hands and eyes, skimming through magazine after magazine. He looks up only when Viktor starts giggling with glee, calling Yuuri to join him.

“Come, look at him, isn’t he the _cutest_?”

Yuuri sucks in a mouthful of air. It gets stuck in his throat, which is the option he prefers to the other, screaming.

"Oh my god." He manages to breathe after a few moments. " _Oh my god!_ ”

"Hmm? What do you think?" Viktor is looking at him with those beautiful bright eyes, but…

_But!_

“I… don’t think I can forgive you for this.”

Yuuri cradles the poor poodle’s head between his hands, but that just makes him look worse.

"What? Why?" The genuine confusion on Viktor's attractive face almost makes Yuuri feel guilty for saying anything.

“Viktor, he looks like a tennis ball! No, wait, he looks like _Princess Leia_ with these round ears!”

“Who’s Princess Leia?”

Yuuri takes a breath. It's alright. It's alright. Fur grows. It's only two weeks, probably even less; he's almost certain the perfectly sculpted, blow-dried fur will go back to its naturally curly state after the first rain hits them during a walk.

"How did you make it so perfectly round?" he wonders. It's actually amazingly well done, from an artistic point of view. Yuuri leans closer to Vicchan, who's uncharacteristically patient on the table (thanks to Viktor's charm, what else) and observes him from several angles. "Wow."

“Natural talent?” Viktor tries a friendly smile. “But you don’t like it.”

"People will think I'm the crazy type that puts him in pink doggy dresses."

"Well, I can redo it—go back to the boring traditional style." Viktor pouts again.

"No," Yuuri sighs. He definitely feels a little guilty now. Viktor is so genuinely into this look, and it's only for a maximum of two weeks, right? "It's fine."

Viktor brightens instantly.

"But maybe I'll get you a double espresso next time, no sugar. Or decaf. Or just warm milk."

“Yuuri, no, that would suck,” Viktor says, his voice practically a whine. “How about I make it up to you before that? With dinner? I know this place that I think you’d like.”

Yuuri can feel the blush returning to his cheeks.

"You want to take me out to dinner?" he squeaks, a bit too conscious of his heart rate picking up.

"I'd love to," Viktor says with that dashing smile of his, and Yuuri knows there's only one answer to this request. "I can't have you screw with my morning coffee, _sweetheart_.”

He picks up his coffee cup and tilts it in Yuuri's direction before sipping from it.

Yuuri laughs. Life in St Petersburg definitely isn’t as bad as he originally thought. Then he realizes—

"Hey! W-Was it _me_ you thought was _sweet_? Back at the reception?”

Viktor’s grin falls somewhere between amusement and disbelief.

“Yuuri, I can’t believe you’re real.”


End file.
